When you are talking prairie roots, you have to mention the Canada Thistle. Again, anyone who lives in Saskatchewan knows all about thistles. These nasty weeds will grow almost anywhere, in almost any soil and are very hard to kill. The official name is "Cirsium Arvense" and even being a weed, it is the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander the third (1249-1286). sounds like a dare to me, but then again, most Scottish food is based on a dare!
The thistle plant is a very hardy weed that reproduces by seeds, by root regeneration and by simply sending roots out horizontally then starting a new plant by sending a shoot upwards! No wonder my garden grows them so well and no wonder they are responsible for significant crop losses where ever they grow. time to break out the round-up!!
The plant can grow up to 4 feet and even higher, sending out countless seeds and with it's prickly leaves, leaving it's mark on many a geocacher!
Lateral roots can grow up to 20 feet horizontally in a single season, and even if you dig up the roots, a small piece of cut root that you miss will easily grow into another plant. And with roots that commonly grow 6 to 10 feet deep, it just had to be mentioned in out Prairie Roots cache series.
